But Washington's birth day, though it ranks, with us, among the holiest days of the year, is but one of twelve such holydays which we purpose to keep, not including Christmas and New Year. Upon the 20th of January, we have the acknowledgment of our independence by Great Britain; a time to commemorate the blessings of peace, and the folly of war. Upon the 20th of March we hail the birth of spring, which begins upon that day, as you know; and some years can rejoice in her coming, even then, with garlands of wild flowers. Then we think of the spring of regeneration in the soul of man, and of the resurrec tion, and the whole material world crowds to offer us illustrations. Our April festival is also upon that day, and though no event of particular interest occurred on that day, during that month died Chaucer, Shakspeare, Bacon, Franklin, and Byron, so that we have no dearth of subjects to speak of. May brings us may-day the 21st of June ushers in summer: July has its "Independence": and the 15th of August was the birth day both of Napoleon Bonaparte, and Walter Scott. September carries the year into autumn: and upon the 19th of October was the surrender of Cornwallis-upon the 20th the discovery of America by Columbus. Upon the 21st of November the Cape of Good Hope was first doubled; while in December the 21st brings winter, the 22d the landing at Plymouth. You see that we have thus, in each month, one day that is set apart from business, from toil, from worldly anxiety, and given to the conteinplation of nature; or the great events of history; or the lives of the leading spirits that have trod our earth: and in all of these to the guiding and governing hand of our Heavenly Father. We hope, in this way, to serve literature, science, and religion. Business is, in this country, like a sun, whose vast centripital force tends ever to draw us in, and absorb us wholly: in the hope that our holydays will aid in producing a counteracting power, we adopt them; and I cannot but wish that others would follow our example. A few national holydays may be enough; but I am inclined to think, it would be well for every family, and circle, and school, to have others of their own; not play days, but holy dayskept, more or less in the inanner that I have described. J. H. P. CHRIST THE SAVIOUR OF MEN. UNITARIAN christians are often accused of denying the Saviour, and rejecting the atonement. If, by the first of these charges, it is meant, that they deny that Jesus Christ and God the Father are the same being; and by the second, that this being was punished on the cross for the sins of men, then do we admit their justice. But, if by saying that Unitarians disbelieve these dogmas, it is meant, that they disbelieve any atonement, and look to no Saviour, then is the accusation false and calumnious. We do believe in the Saviour, and in the atonement which he came to effect. We do believe that Jesus Christ came into the world to save men from sin and its consequences. "God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life; for God sent not his son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved." But the question is, How does Christ save the world from sin? We answer, he saves men from sin and its consequences by his LIFE: and by his life, we mean all that he was, all that he said, did, and suffered, recorded in the Evangelists. You hear it said, we are aware, when you ask how Christ saves men, that it is by his death, his blood, the great sacrifice on the cross, that he saves men. But we say, as far as we can understand scripture on this point, that it is not the death of Christ alone, which we must regard as operating in saving men from sin. It is his death, his sufferings on the cross, considered as part of his life, as the most glorious, the most touching scene in it; as the sublimest and most efficient manifestation of that wonderful spirit of self-sacrifice and faith, which so filled his whole life. Christians have considered the death of Christ too much as detached from his life-as standing alone in its saving effects. We look upon his death as the finishing and crowning act in that life of wonder-as forming with that life a complete and harmonious whole. It is not his death alone which operates in saving from sin. Although, his death, being the most prominent event in the whole course of his ministry, may justly be regarded as transcending every other of his acts and sufferings for man. And so his Apostles regarded it; which accounts for the prominence given to it in their discourses and letters. They, when preaching or writing of him, their Lord and Saviour, while their memories ran back over his whole life of labor, and instruction, and suffering, would naturally place this last event, this unjust and cruel death upon the cross, in front of all other events. They therefore preached "Christ crucified." They spoke of the blood of Christ as cleansing from sin, shed for the remission of sins. Beholding in their mind's eye, as always before them, the naked and bleeding form of the Son of God, hanging in the slow agonies of a cruel and ignominious death, upon the cross; beholding thus, him who had brought them as from darkness to light, and filled them with a new spirit, and made them new creatures-how could they refrain, when speaking of him, from telling of his death, of his blood poured out freely for the sins of the world, of the great sacrifice for the human race? They could not speak otherwise. Jesus Christ crucified hung before them. His pale and bleeding form haunted their memories and imaginations. The voice that had been like solemn music in their ears, was hushed forever. The eyes which had so awed, or so encouraged them, with their unearthly light, were closed in death. The majestic form which had moved about among them like a divinity, was stretched in weakness, and pain, and ignominy, upon the most cruel instrument of torture. How could they refrain from speaking of the blood, of the crucifixion, of the sacrifice of their Saviour? Remember too, that the Apostles were orientals, and accustomed to speak strongly and in highly figurative language. Remember that they spoke just as they felt, in spontaneous, unguarded, fervid utterances. Remember that they were not writing philosophical essays, nor uttering studied harangues. Remember that therefore, we must apply to the understanding of their writings, just and rational principles of interpretation. Let us bear in mind these things-let us transport ourselves, in imagination, to the age and situation they occupied, and enter as far as we can into their thoughts and feelings, and we shall not fail to account for the reason why they spoke so much of "Christ crucified." Still, we believe that they themselves regarded the death of Christ not as a separate, detached event, but as sublimely and powerfully illustrative of his whole vious life. Regarded in this light, how beautiful, and how powerful an exhibition of the wonderful spirit which was in him, does his death become! We do not believe his death to operate in any mysterious, incomprehensible way, in drawing men from sin--we believe it is by the simple, but mighty pre power of example, that it operates. It was so regarded by the Apostles. The sufferings of Jesus are held up to view by them, as a motive for christians to act, to suffer and die, likewise, in the cause of truth and holiness. They are exhorted to run patiently the race set before them, looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of their faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. We are desirous not to be misunderstood. We do not undervalue the death of Christ. We believe in an atonement. We believe in the saving efficacy of the death, or as the scriptures sometimes called it, the blood of Christ. But we consider this death of Christ as not the whole of the work of atonement, but only the consummation, the completion of the work and sufferings of his whole ministry. We believe that he himself expressed this, in the last words he uttered on the cross, ere he bowed his head and died-"It is finished!" What was finished? The work he was appointed to perform. He had labored, and suffered, and taught; his whole life had passed before his disciples, and had drawn to its completion: he had gone up voluntarily to meet a death of shame and suffering, amidst denials, and desertion, and taunts, and scoffings, and the grossest injustice-but he knew that he was completing the great work of redemption, and that on this last hour of agony, all might depend. We believe then, that the new testament teaches that Christ is the Saviour of men: that he saves them by his teachings, by his example, by his death; and that we should consider all these means as included in his life and character, and that this life and character, making up and constituting all we know of the Son of God, becomes the salvation of men. We cannot separate Jesus from his doctrines, his actions, his miracles, his death. They form one perfect whole. It is the character of Jesus that saves men. His words alone will not save us. They are comparatively lifeless, till we see Jesus himself acting and living in perfect accordance with them. The recognition of the reality of the miracles will not save us-we must consider them as a part of his perfect character. And in like manner, the contemplation of his sufferings and his death cannot save us, till we come to consider them as the completing and crowning part of his whole life and character. It is the example of Jesus, we repeat, which must and does save men. It is by being led to become like him, as far as we can. It is by taking the life of Jesus, warm and fresh, and unmarred by human dogmas, and laying it to our hearts, till it warms and penetrates our whole being. It is by clothing ourselves with Christ. It is by acquainting ourselves with him, in every aspect of lowliness and weakness, as united and blended with every aspect of exaltation and inspiration which he exhibitedby making him our guide, our teacher, our pattern, that he is to save us. If by learning of Jesus, we are made christians, made like Christ in spirit, then the atonement has effected its work. Let it not be said that we are endeavoring to "explain away" this doctrine. We appeal to scripture. We would avoid and deprecate any fanciful speculations on the subject. We take our stand upon the foundation of the New Testament, and only demand of others that they will look with an impartial mind into those writings, that they may be convinced of the truth of this view. C. P. C. SONNET. SPIRITUAL BEAUTY. Men talk of beauty-of the earth and sky, And search all language, with a lover's eye, For flowers of praise to deck earth's glorious daughters. A love for all things beautiful around. But there is beauty that can never perish― C. P. C. * Job, xxviii. 7. There is a path which no fowl knoweth, and which the vulture's eye hath not seen. |